Rice doing well after heavy rain

Rainfall varied across south Louisiana this week. Some areas received several inches, while some got less than an inch.
The rain gauge at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station showed 4.46 inches from Tuesday until Thursday, with most of that on Tuesday.
The field of Jazzman rice is growing well. With little wind this morning, the pleasant aroma of the variety was quite strong.

In the picture to the left, a frog clings to a leaf on a rice plant.


Some of the rice plants in the field, such as the one photographed on the left, have just finished flowering.

Larry White, the station’s foundation seed director, said harvest could occur by mid-August.
Durel Romaine said his field near Kaplan, also featured in the blog, got less than an inch, which means his pumping cost will be reduced by that amount.
Romaine said the water in canals that he uses for irrigation have 50 to 60 grains of salt but the runoff from the rain didn’t appear to fill ditches that feed the canal.
Romaine said he’s not worried about salt in the water at this point because at most he is 3 weeks away from harvest.
Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist, said Romaine is probably 10 days to 2 weeks from draining the field in preparation for harvest.